Multi-Service Access Nodes (MSANs):

Gateways to Next-Generation Network (NGN)

V Brett Handley

(Manuscript received April 13, 2006)

While it is possible to envisage a Next-Generation Network (NGN) solution with a

heterogeneous core, the same cannot be said for the fixed access network. Multiple
legacies and new technologies must continue to be supported, delivering the widest
range of services and adapting them so they can be carried over the NGN core. This
paper considers the range of services and technologies that have to be handled by the
access network and how a single solution the Multi-Service Access Node (MSAN)
can be cost-effectively developed and deployed to meet the challenge of providing an
access gateway to the NGN core. It then looks at an MSAN solution called GeoStream
Access Gateway that was developed by Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe Limited
and chosen by British Telecom (BT) for their 21st Century Network in the UK.

1. Introduction
Traditionally, fixed access networks have
been developed to deliver specific services, for
example, public switched telephone networks
(PSTNs) and private circuit (leased line) networks.
In general, this has led to a proliferation of access
network technologies, each linked to a subset of
the total set of communications services. One of
the fundamental principles of a Next-Generation
Network (NGN) is the ability to offer services
independent from the underlying delivery technology, and in the main this means converging on
IP as the common network layer protocol for
everything.
However it is not possible, except in pure
greenfield applications, to simply remove and
replace all the existing end-user terminals in the
network the cost of doing so would far outweigh
the benefits gained by moving to an NGN. This
creates a requirement to maintain support for
legacy access technologies and to convert to IP as
close to the edge of the network as possible, as
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defined by network economics. There is also the

question of how far into the access network the
IP-layer intelligence needs to reach.
In order to flexibly meet these requirements,
network operators need a Multi-Service Access
Node (MSAN), which is a platform capable of
supporting all the widely deployed access technologies and services as well as the newly
emerging ones, while simultaneously providing
a gateway to an NGN core. To support the
migration of operators to NGN, Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe Limited has developed the
GeoStream Access Gateway. This gateway is a
complete MSAN solution that can cost-effectively
deliver a combination of traditional and emerging services over a variety of access technologies
(Plain Old Telephone System [POTS], Integrated
Service Digital Network [ISDN], Asymmetric
Digital Subscriber Line [ADSL], Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line [SDSL], and Synchronous
Digital Hierarchy [SDH]), interfacing to both
legacy and NGN cores.
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2. PSTN migration challenge

For many traditional network operators
(former post, telephone, and telegraph [PTT]
operators), the PSTNs were the origin of their
business and remain a key, if declining, source of
revenue. Over many years, PSTNs have evolved
a wide range of services and features, all designed
to be delivered over the existing copper access
infrastructure. When such an operator decides
to deploy an NGN, retaining the existing PSTN
services is likely to be a priority. This could be
achieved by maintaining a parallel PSTN
infrastructure, but this is not always sensible
economically, and so migration of PSTN services
to an NGN becomes necessary.
Large, national carriers may have many millions of PSTN customers, which makes upgrading
every end user terminal unrealistic in the short
term. This means that an MSAN must support
existing access interfaces, including analogue
POTS, basic rate ISDN, and primary rate ISDN.
On top of these, there are often other legacy
access interfaces, for example, ISDN in Europe
based on pre-ETSI standards, as well as other
special services delivered over the copper access
such as meter pulses for payphones and connections for intruder alarm systems. The challenge
in creating a solution to meet all these service
requirements is considerably more arduous than
simply deploying an overlay Voice over Internet
Protocol (VoIP) solution.
As well as supporting the whole range of
PSTN services, there are often legal and other
regulatory requirements that must be met. For
example, many carriers are obliged to supply a
lifeline telephony service; that is, their standard
POTS (and indeed basic-rate ISDN) service must
continue to function in the event of a power failure at the customers premises so that calls to the
emergency services can be made. Effectively, this
often means that terminal devices must be
powered from the network. Consequently, MSANs
deployed to support POTS and ISDN services
must also provide this feature.
FUJITSU Sci. Tech. J., 42,4,(October 2006)

There are many competing and/or complementary VoIP solutions, some of which have been
available for several years. However, when
considering a complete PSTN replacement solution (rather than a simple, basic call only model)
the choices are not so wide. Fujitsu has played
an active role in the development of the standards
required to deploy such a solution through the
Multi-Service Forum,1) IETF,2) ETSI,3) and
ITU-T4) specifically helping to define H.248 as
a suitable protocol for control of MSANs supporting a full range of PSTN services. The use of a
stimulus-based protocol with service intelligence
residing in centralised call servers is advantageous when compared with the alternative option
of re-developing existing services to operate in a
more distributed environment (e.g., by using
Session Initiation Protocol [SIP]).

3. Continuing and enhancing

deployment of xDSL services
The MSAN must support existing, widely
deployed, xDSL access technologies (e.g., ADSL,
ADSL2, ADSL2+, READSL, SHDSL, and VDSL)
and be able to support future technologies, for
example, VDSL2, with minimal upgrading. To
create the GeoStream Access Gateway, Fujitsu
built on its Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) expertise to develop a solution
that can be cost-competitive in the commoditised
DSLAM market where the price per port has
fallen dramatically over the past five years and
yet still be capable of supporting the full MSAN
service/technology set. As well as delivering typical, high-bandwidth, best-effort Internet access
services over xDSL, the MSAN must also be able
to deliver high-quality additional services such as
broadcast and on-demand television, video
telephony, and other interactive multimedia
applications.
MSANs for the NGN must also take into
account that every copper access line can be used
for POTS/ISDN, xDSL, or a combination of both
of these at the same time.
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4. Adding fixed-wireless access

It is anticipated that fixed-wireless access
using 802.16-based technology5) will be used to
provide broadband connectivity in some regions
where xDSL cannot reach. While standalone
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
(WiMAX) systems can be used for this, there are
considerable operational advantages for the network operator in using the access platform that
is already being used to deliver fixed line
services: for example, backhaul interfaces and
operational procedures can be reused and/or
shared. The business case for deploying a wireless solution can be considerably improved by
using MSANs that support both wired and fixedwireless access simultaneously, allowing the
additional cost per customer of wireless access to
be amortised across a wider user base.

5. Increasing fiber penetration

Many large operators, and smaller ones
focusing on particular market segments, already
have fiber connections to some of their customer
premises typically to large business customers
who require very high bandwidth connections for
their voice and data services. Operators are also
continually investigating the feasibility of
bringing fiber closer to smaller customers
by fiber-to-the-kerb or even fiber-to-the-home
solutions sometimes with direct fiber or more
generally by using Passive Optical Network (PON)
architectures (Gigabit PON [G-PON])6) in particular). Once again, the MSAN needs to support
the existing fiber access solutions and provide a
platform to deliver deeper fiber penetration as the
access network evolves.
As already discussed in relation to WiMAX,
deployment of FTTx solutions can become more
economically attractive when resources can be
shared with equipment deployed for existing
mass-market services. For example, the integration of a G-PON solution into the MSAN means
that all features and services that have evolved
for delivery over ADSL2+ can also be provided over
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fiber access networks, and common resources, for

example, for switching, multicasting, and backhauling, can be reused.

6. Meeting deployment
requirements
When considering the implementation of a
large-scale NGN consisting of connections to
millions of end-users, the target is for the NGN to
reach as close to the customer as economically
feasible. When large corporate customers are
involved, the business case for installing fiber-tothe-premises makes sense. At the opposite end of
the spectrum, for residential users it will usually
be necessary to maintain the existing last-mile
technology, although fiber may gradually be
installed closer to the end-user as time
progresses.
This means that for different areas of deployment, different MSAN configurations will be
required. Some technologies will be required in
one area but not in another. In other words, the
MSAN is not a one-fits-all solution, but must be
tailored for appropriate, cost-effective deployment
in line with the operators NGN plans.
Small MSANs will be required in areas
currently served by telephone exchanges with up
to a few thousand customer lines. In these areas,
there may be very few large business customers
and so there is no need to deploy the business
fiber access solution. (For customers that do need
a fiber solution, they can be directly connected to
the nearest larger MSAN.) Even smaller MSANs
may be required for installation in street cabinets
or other similar enclosures where exchange buildings are no longer required.
Very large MSANs will be required in areas
currently serving 10s of thousands of customer
lines from an exchange. These will need to support a full range of services over copper and fiber
today, with rapid evolution to other technologies
in the future.
There will, of course, be a complete range of
MSAN sizes required to meet the requirements
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port protocols over a single WDM connection.

7. GeoStream Access Gateway

Fujitsus GeoStream Access Gateway is an
MSAN solution developed by Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe Limited to meet the market
requirements described above. It is a platform
composed of multiple modules that can be used to
build a variety of MSAN solutions that are
customised to specific deployment requirements.
Figure 1 shows a high-level overview of the
GeoStream Access Gateway architecture.
The access gateway comprises three main
building blocks:
1) FDX: This element can be a standalone
MSAN for access services delivered over

GE: Gigabit Ethernet

FE: Fast Ethernet

Telephony
and
xDSL
services

Range of residential
and business services
(Ethernet, E1, )

STM-4/16

GE

STM-1/4/16

HDSL

STM-1

FBX

FE/GE

GE
WiMAX
BS

WiMAX

FE/GE

STM-1

E1, E3, STM-1,

and Ethernet
services

G-PON

G-PON
OLT

SHDSL

POTS & ADSL2+

POTS & VDSL/VDSL2

POTS

ISDN BRA & PRA

ISDN
services

STM-16,
GE
GE,
10GE

GE

GE

STM-4/16

FCX

FDX

Analogue
telephone
service

WDM

GE/10GE

STM-4/16/64

CWDM,
DWDM

of the small sites, large sites, and sites in between.

Similarly, evolution to new technologies may take
place in some areas before others; therefore, support features such as WiMAX and G-PON need to
be options on top of the basic MSAN with its POTS
and ADSL capabilities.
Unless an operator is deploying a greenfield
NGN, or creating an overlay network to coexist
with its legacy platforms, there will be an additional requirement for the MSAN to support
simultaneous connectivity to both NGN and legacy core networks. This could, for example, mean
supporting multiple types of backhaul connections
(e.g., Ethernet and SDH) either as separate interfaces or mixed onto a common fiber. In larger
sites, the backhaul may also carry multiple trans-

nx64k, E1, E3, STM-1,

and Ethernet services

BS: Broadcasting Satellite

STM: Synchronous Transfer Mode

Figure 1
GeoStream Access Gateway architecture.
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B. Handley: Multi-Service Access Nodes (MSANs): Gateways to Next-Generation Network (NGN)

copper lines or part of a larger MSAN configuration. It can support multiple xDSL
technologies and offers traditional POTS and
ISDN customer interfaces. The built-in
Access Gateway Signalling Function enables
FDX to support multiple Virtual Access Gateways, each controlled independently by
centralised call servers using H.248 signalling. Over 10 000 lines can be supported on
a single node, including simultaneous
support for ADSL2+ and POTS on every line
if required. The multicasting features allow
delivery of entertainment services such as
broadcast television with rapid processing of
channel change requests handled by individual line cards. Ethernet and Asynchronous
Transfer Mode (ATM) services can be supported at the same time over the 40 Gb/s
packet switching fabric, with options to
deploy multiple SDH ATM and Gigabit
Ethernet interfaces to the core network or to

2)

the FCX module. FDX can also support small

numbers of fiber access services (SDH and
Ethernet based) alongside the mass-residential copper access capabilities. Smaller
versions of FDX are also provided for deployment in street cabinets. Figure 2 shows the
rack layout of the GeoStream Access
Gateway (FDX).
FBX: This element provides business fiber
access services using SDH and Ethernet in
the access network. With a set of complementary
customer-premises
network
terminating equipment (NTE), a wide range
of business services can be delivered, including n 64 kb/s private circuits, n E1, E3,
STM-1, and multi-port Ethernet. Both SDH
and Ethernet based network interfaces are
supported for connectivity to legacy and NGN
core networks or to the FCX module. Additionally, Time Division Multiplexing (TDM)
and Ethernet services can be mixed on the

GeoStream Access Gateway supporting 6144 ADSL + POTS lines

Figure 2
Rack layout of GeoStream Access Gateway (FDX).

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same SDH backhaul network using Virtual

Concatenation (VCAT).7)
3) FCX: In larger MSAN configurations, FCX
is used to concentrate traffic from one or more
FDX or FCX modules and provide direct
access interfaces for Gigabit Ethernet
services. The FCX has a switching capacity
of 160 Gb/s and can support multiple network
interfaces, including mixed Ethernet and
TDM traffic over STM-64 VCAT.
FCX (or FDX if appropriate) can be used to
subtend additional access modules that are not
necessarily integrated within the current FDX and
FBX elements; examples of this include options
for G-PON and WiMAX. These new technologies
might not be deployed on a network-wide scale
from day one. It therefore makes sense to adopt a
modular approach, so they can be added just in
the nodes where they are required and also can
share a common infrastructure, service logic, and
network connectivity with the other elements of
the MSAN.
As described above, a range of backhaul
options for the GeoStream Access Gateway are
provided. These options allow the network
operator to make the best use of existing and
developing core networks, while migrating from
legacy networks to the NGN core at an appropriate pace. FCX, FBX, and FDX all support SDH
and Ethernet based network interfaces, with the
option to use SDH VCAT in situations where TDM,
Ethernet, and ATM need to be mixed onto a single backhaul network connection. In addition to
these interfaces, a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) option is available, allowing traffic
from very large MSANs to be aggregated onto
wavelengths in a metro network.
The GeoStream Access Gateway is a layer-1
and layer-2 access platform, with support for layer-3 functionality when appropriate. For example,
IGMP8) control of multicasting is supported (as
used in a broadcast TV over DSL service), and
Bidirectional Forwarding Detection9) can be used
to implement IP-layer protection for selected
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services.

8. Conclusion
Fujitsus GeoStream Access Gateway is a true
gateway to the NGN. It is a multi-service access
node that can be deployed to support the migration of current services to a new network as well
as the introduction of new services over multiple
access technologies. Operators using Fujitsus
MSAN can retire legacy access networks but maintain the revenue-generating services that run over
them, creating a more cost-effective business model for NGN evolution.
The FDX module of the GeoStream Access
Gateway supports a fully standards-based, carrier-class solution for migration of PSTNs, including
support for analogue POTS, ISDN, and lifeline
requirements. Existing fiber-access services are
supported by the FBX element, with a modular
upgrade path for introduction of deeper fiber
using G-PON, and fixed wireless access with
WiMAX. While FDX can be scaled down to support small MSAN configurations, including street
cabinet deployments, FCX provides a solution for
the largest installations, with massive switching
capacity and options for WDM backhaul.
The modular architecture of the GeoStream
Access Gateway, coupled with its network-processor-based implementation, scalabilty, and support
for multiple technologies, allows network operators to create appropriate MSAN configurations
to match their NGN migration needs. At the same
time, it enables operators to future-proof their access network to cope with the introduction of new
services.
In the UK, British Telecom (BT) has selected Fujitsu to provide MSANs for their 21st Century
Network, which is a migration of BTs complete
infrastructure, including the PSTN, to an all-IP
NGN to be deployed between 2006 and 2010.
During this period, all existing POTS and ISDN
telephone lines, which go to over 25 million
connections, will be disconnected from the traditional PSTN network equipment and connected
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to NGN MSANs, including Fujitsus GeoStream

Access Gateway.

References
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)

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The Multi-Service Forum (MSF).

http://www.msforum.org
IETF RFC3015 Megaco Protocol.
TISPAN; PES; NGN Release 1 H.248 Profile for
Controlling Access and Residential Gateways.
ETSI ES 283 002 V1.1.1 (2005-06).
ITU-T Recommendation H.248.
IEEE 802.16-2004.
ITU-T Recommendation G.984.
ITU-T Recommendation G.707.
IETF RFC 2236 - Internet Group Management
Protocol, Version 2.
Internet Draft: Bidirectional Forwarding Detection draft-ietf-bfd-base-04.txt.

Brett Handley, Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe Ltd.

Mr. Handley is Customer Solutions
Manager for Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe Limited and has over 15
years experience in the broadband telecommunications industry. Prior to his
current role, he was involved in broadband and narrowband switching, xDSL
access, and triple-play network projects
as well as product management and
business development in both France and the UK.
E-mail: B.Handley@ftel.co.uk

FUJITSU Sci. Tech. J., 42,4,(October 2006)